I got this lens with a Rebel 2000 when I first started out in photography. I thought it was cool, but later I bought a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX Macro and never used this abysmal lens again. Its optical quality cannot stand near a decent piece of glass. I sold this lens for $60 CAD when I got my 20D since it was gathering dust in my closet. Useless lens.

Extremely sharp, even wide open. Great optical quality, great colors, awesome bokeh. One of the sharpest lenses ever. Nice EX finish, feels like a real piece of good glass.

Cons:

The autofocus is slow and noisy. Not enough working distance for some serious macro work.

I've bought this lens because I needed a 50mm and wanted to try out macro photography, but didn't have money for lens especially made for macro. Now I use it as my main lens since its optical quality is amazing and everything can be shot with it, except for sports. It has a metal mount and is built very well. The optical quality and versatility is what this lens is all about.

Very sharp, great optical quality, small, common 58mm filter, 38mm on a 20D (1.6x crop).

Cons:

The autofocus is a bit noisy, but acceptable.

I like this lens a lot since it makes a perfect general-use prime for a digital camera since it becomes a 38mm on a 20D and I like this focal length a lot. It has a nice focusing ring, takes 58mm filters so I can use the same filter on different lenses, it also has a metal rear mount. The build quality is great and its a very solid lens. It is inexpensive for what the image quality it offers.